**Apse - 1.** Manopello, S. Maria d’Arabona (13th c.). (Gavini, St. dell’Arch. in Abruzzo). — 2. Chiusi, S. Vittore (11th c.). (Toesca, St. dell’arte ital.). — 3. Sampierdarena, S. Bartolomeo (12th c.). (Toesca, op. cit.). — 4. Porto, Basilica of the so-called Xenodochium of Pammachius (4th c.). (Rivoria, Origini dell’Arch. lombarda). — 5. Bari, Cathedral (12th c.). (Toesca, op. cit.). — 6. Como, S. Fedele (11th c.). (Toesca, op. cit.). — 7. Carignano, SS. Giovanni Battista e Remigio (18th c.). (Brinkmann, Baukunst des 17. u. 18. Jahrhunderts).
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | 8 | 9 |
**Apse - 1.** S. Maria di Portonovo (11th c.). (Toesca, op. cit.). — 2. Parma, Cathedral (11th c.). (Toesca, op. cit.). — 3. Castiglione a Casauria, S. Clemente (12th c.). (Gavini, op. cit.). — 4. Pisa, S. Paolo a Ripa (12th c.). (Toesca, op. cit.). — 5. Egypt, Basilica of the Red Monastery (5th c.). (Wulf, Alther, u. byzant. Kunst). — 6. Rome, ancient basilica of S. Peter (4th c.). (Wulf, op. cit.). — 7. L’Aquila, S. Domenico (13th c.). (Gavini, op. cit.). — 8. L’Aquila, S. Bernardino (15th c.). (Gavini, op. cit.). — 9. Basilica of Turmanin (5th–6th c.). (Wulf, op. cit.).
3. CONTEMPORARY ART
When not suppressed due to altered conceptions of space and new constructional systems, in the modern age the apse often takes on monumental characteristics of its own, regaining a predominant scenographic importance in relation to the urban complex in which it is situated.It does not lack, on occasion, some element that seems a simplification of Romanesque decorative details, yet the constructional materials employed are generally emphasized in themselves. The presence of windows depends on the system of interior lighting, and they may even be absent, as in many Italian or foreign examples, where the church’s interior is left in semi-darkness, concentrating light in the naves.
Particular constructional materials and functional requirements (acoustics, lighting, etc.) that contemporary architecture values as formal elements suggest particular forms linked less to the apse’s traditional character than to the taste that broadly governs the various current trends. V.